Business

2:48 am

Mon September 17, 2012

The Last Word In Business

And our last word in business today is: kicking the crack berry habit. That's what BlackBerry users at Yahoo are being encouraged to do.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And take up other addictions instead. Over the weekend, Yahoo announced it will buy employees the smartphone of their choice so long as it is not a BlackBerry. The company will however, pick up the tab with a data plan for the brand new iPhone 5 and the yet-to-be-released Windows Phone 8.

MONTAGNE: The move, announced in a memo by Yahoo's new CEO is great for tech-loving employees but it's bad news for BlackBerry maker Research in Motion. The tech media website CNet observes that Yahoo's decision to dump the BlackBerry is essentially a bet that the platform is dead.

And that's the business news from MORNING EDITION. I'm Renee Montagne.

INSKEEP: And I'm Steve Inskeep. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.